This invention relates generally to the construction field and more particularly to systems and methods for covering surfaces.
Surfaces, for example floors, are covered in a variety of ways and with various materials. For example, a common way of covering a floor involves rolling out portions of carpeting and anchoring the edges thereof to the floor. Another method of installing carpeting involves installing a plurality of carpet tiles. These carpet tiles may have glue applied to their undersides during their manufacture. The undersides of these carpet tiles and thus the glue may further be covered with a backing material to maintain the glue in a usable condition until the time arrives for their installation. The backing may then be removed for application of the tiles to the floor. Alternatively, carpet tiles may be shipped from a factory without such glue, and therefore glue must be applied to a surface and/or the tiles during the application or installation process. In either case, the application or installation of carpeting tiles requires a substantial amount of manual labor. This labor is necessary to apply the glue to a surface or in the case of pre-applied glue to remove a backing from each tile so it can be applied to a surface, and to install each individual tile.
Thus, there is a need for improved systems and methods for covering surfaces, particularly carpet tile systems, which decrease the amount of manual labor necessary to cover surfaces.
The present invention provides, in first aspect, a surface covering system including a first covering portion detachably connected to a backing and a second covering portion detachably connected to the backing, wherein the first covering portion and the second covering portion are spaced apart on the backing.
The present invention provides, in second aspect, a surface covering system including a first surface covering portion detachably connected to a first backing, a second surface covering portion detachably connected to a second backing, and a connector connected to the first backing and the second backing.
The present invention provides, in a third aspect, a method for covering a surface including detachably connecting a first covering portion and a second covering portion to a backing to cause the first covering portion and the second covering portion to be located spaced apart on the backing.
The present invention provides, in a fourth aspect, a carpet tile system including a plurality of carpet tiles detachably connected to a backing, wherein at least two of the plurality of carpet tiles are separated from one another on the backing.